TCAP Science Practice Test

Pick your grade from 3 to 8 and practice that grade's science standards, each answer explained.

A student draws models of ice, liquid water and water vapor. What should all three models show?

Pick an answer, then press Check answer. Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason. Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.

Print covers the next 12 questions. Share this set copies a link to the same questions in the same order.

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Tennessee Department of Education. Bank checked October 7, 2026.

The real tests: TCAP science, grades 3 to 8

Grades tested
Each grade from 3 to 8 has its own blueprint. In high school the science blueprint is for Biology.
Grades 3 and 4
One subpart of 60 minutes, on paper. 30 to 31 items; 25 to 26 count.
Grade 5
Two subparts of 45 minutes, on paper. 48 to 49 items; 39 to 40 count.
Grades 6 to 8
Two subparts of 45 minutes, online. 48 to 49 items; 39 to 40 count.
Calculator
None in grades 3 to 5. Allowed in grades 6 to 8.
Item kinds
Multiple choice with four options and multiple select. From grade 5, clusters of up to six questions share one phenomenon.

Checked October 7, 2026 against the TCAP science blueprints for grades 3 to 8 (June 2026), the science assessment overviews and the 2026-27 Science Calculator Guidance. Rules change, so confirm with the agency itself before your test.

The state's assessment page

Next step In grade 6? A full 40-question science testIn grade 4? Science, math and reading together

Grade 3: all 12 questions

Physical Sciences 5

  • A drummer hits a drum. You hear a boom and see the skin of the drum shake. Which observations are evidence that energy is present? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 3, standard 3.PS3.1
  • A lamp goes dark when its switch is turned off. What happened in the circuit? U.S. Energy Information Administration, Energy Kids, "Science of electricity"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 3, standard 3.PS3.2
  • A student draws models of ice, liquid water and water vapor. What should all three models show? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 3, standard 3.PS1.1
Show all 12 questions (9 more)

Physical Sciences, continued

  • Students must build a bridge that holds a book, using no more than 20 craft sticks. Which part of the task is a constraint? Cambridge Dictionary, "constraint"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 3, standard 3.ETS1.1
  • Which change cannot be undone by heating or cooling? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 3, standard 3.PS1.2

Life Sciences 3

  • A forest with many kinds of plants and animals is cleared to build a shopping center. What happens to the biodiversity of that area? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 3, standard 3.LS4.2
  • A scientist studies a bird with a long, thin beak that fits deep inside tube-shaped flowers. What is the beak most likely used for? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 3, standard 3.LS1.2
  • Which list gives the four life stages of a monarch butterfly in order? U.S. Forest Service, "Monarch Butterfly Biology"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 3, standard 3.LS1.1

Earth and Space Sciences 4

  • A town builds a levee along its river. Which natural hazard is the levee meant to reduce? National Weather Service Glossary, "Levee"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 3, standard 3.ESS3.1
  • Which body in the solar system is a ball of frozen gases, rock and dust that grows a tail when it comes near the Sun? NASA Science, "Comets"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 3, standard 3.ESS1.1
  • Which group lists only inner planets? NASA Science, "About the Planets"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 3, standard 3.ESS1.1
  • Which sentence describes climate, not weather? NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, "What's the Difference Between Weather and Climate?"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 3, standard 3.ESS2.4

How this list was compiled: Outline: the TCAP Assessment Blueprint, Science, Grade 3 (June 2026), of the Tennessee Department of Education, https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/blueprints/Grade_3_SCI_Blueprint_2026-27.pdf, linked from Blueprints for 2026-27, https://www.tn.gov/education/districts/lea-operations/assessment/tcap-blueprints.html, and the TCAP Science Grades 3-4 Assessment Overview (June 2026), https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/testing/overviews/Science_GR3-4_Assessment_Overview.pdf, read 2026-10-07. Facts: the Tennessee Academic Standards for Science (adopted October 2022), https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/stateboardofeducation/documents/standards/science/New%2010-28-22%20Science%20Standards.pdf, read 2026-10-07; where a question names another public page, that page was read the same day. Licence: Own work. Questions, reading passages, answer choices and explanations were written for this site from the state's public standards and the public pages named on each question. Nothing is copied or reworded from a TCAP or TNReady test, an item release, a practice test of the state or another practice test.

Grade 4: all 12 questions

Physical Sciences 5

  • A bridge must hold 500 grams and be made from one sheet of paper. Bridge A holds 200 grams and uses one sheet. Bridge B holds 650 grams and uses one sheet. Bridge C holds 900 grams and uses three sheets. Which design meets both the criteria and the constraints? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 4, standard 4.ETS1.1
  • A student rolls a cart into a box at three speeds. At slow speed the box slides 10 centimeters, at medium speed 25 centimeters and at fast speed 40 centimeters. What does the data show? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 4, standard 4.PS3.1
  • A wind-up toy is wound tight and then let go. What happens to the energy stored in its spring? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 4, standard 4.PS3.3
Show all 12 questions (9 more)

Physical Sciences, continued

  • The first telescopes used lenses. What does a telescope lens do? NASA Space Place, "How Do Telescopes Work?"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 4, standard 4.PS4.3
  • White light passes through a prism and spreads into the colors of the rainbow. Why? NASA Science, "Visible Light"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 4, standard 4.PS4.2

Life Sciences 3

  • In a meadow food chain, grass is eaten by grasshoppers, grasshoppers by frogs and frogs by snakes. If the frogs disappear, what is most likely to happen first? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 4, standard 4.LS2.2
  • People release a new kind of fish into a lake. It has no predators there and eats the eggs of the native fish. What is the likely result? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 4, standard 4.LS2.3
  • Scientists find fossils of an animal, but no animal like it is alive today. What does this show? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 4, standard 4.LS4.1

Earth and Space Sciences 4

  • After a storm, loose rock at the top of a steep slope tumbles to the bottom in a landslide. What moved the rock? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 4, standard 4.ESS2.1
  • In a cliff that has never been disturbed, a lower rock layer holds fossils of sea animals and the layer above it holds fossils of land plants. What can scientists conclude? U.S. Geological Survey, "Geologic Time: Relative Time Scale"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 4, standard 4.ESS1.2
  • Over thousands of years, a river carries away bits of rock and its canyon grows deeper. Which process is at work? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 4, standard 4.ESS1.1
  • Which list has only renewable resources? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 4, standard 4.ESS3.1

How this list was compiled: Outline: the TCAP Assessment Blueprint, Science, Grade 4 (June 2026), of the Tennessee Department of Education, https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/blueprints/Grade_4_SCI_Blueprint_2026-27.pdf, linked from Blueprints for 2026-27, https://www.tn.gov/education/districts/lea-operations/assessment/tcap-blueprints.html, and the TCAP Science Grades 3-4 Assessment Overview (June 2026), https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/testing/overviews/Science_GR3-4_Assessment_Overview.pdf, read 2026-10-07. Facts: the Tennessee Academic Standards for Science (adopted October 2022), https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/stateboardofeducation/documents/standards/science/New%2010-28-22%20Science%20Standards.pdf, read 2026-10-07; where a question names another public page, that page was read the same day. Licence: Own work. Questions, reading passages, answer choices and explanations were written for this site from the state's public standards and the public pages named on each question. Nothing is copied or reworded from a TCAP or TNReady test, an item release, a practice test of the state or another practice test.

Grade 5: all 12 questions

Physical Sciences 5

  • A puddle disappears on a sunny afternoon. Which phase change took place? U.S. Geological Survey, "Water cycle"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 5, standard 5.PS1.1
  • A soccer ball sits still on the grass. A player kicks it and it rolls away. Why did the motion of the ball change? NASA Glenn Research Center, "Newton's Laws of Motion"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 5, standard 5.PS2.1
  • A student stirs dried beans and rice together in a bowl, then sorts them back into two piles by hand. Was a new substance made when they were combined? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 5, standard 5.PS1.3
Show all 12 questions (9 more)

Physical Sciences, continued

  • A student times a swing. It passes its lowest point every 2 seconds, five times in a row. When will it most likely pass that point next? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 5, standard 5.PS2.2
  • An ice cube with a mass of 30 grams melts inside a sealed bag. What is the mass of the water in the bag? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 5, standard 5.PS1.2

Life Sciences 3

  • In a snowy region, some rabbits of one species have white fur and others have brown fur. Hawks spot the brown rabbits more easily. Which rabbits have the advantage? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 5, standard 5.LS4.1
  • The puppies in one litter have coats of different colors. What does this show? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 5, standard 5.LS3.2
  • Which behavior is learned and not an instinct? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 5, standard 5.LS1.1

Earth and Space Sciences 4

  • Earth spins once about every 24 hours. Which pattern does this spin cause? NASA Science, "Facts About Earth"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 5, standard 5.ESS1.3
  • The Moon is always half lit by the Sun. Why does it seem to change shape during a month? NASA Science, "Moon Phases"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 5, standard 5.ESS1.4
  • What causes a solar eclipse? NASA Science, "Types of Solar Eclipses"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 5, standard 5.ESS1.4
  • What kind of galaxy is the Milky Way? NASA Science, "Galaxies"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 5, standard 5.ESS1.2

How this list was compiled: Outline: the TCAP Assessment Blueprint, Science, Grade 5 (June 2026), of the Tennessee Department of Education, https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/blueprints/Grade_5_SCI_Blueprint_2026-27.pdf, linked from Blueprints for 2026-27, https://www.tn.gov/education/districts/lea-operations/assessment/tcap-blueprints.html, and the TCAP Science Grade 5 Assessment Overview (June 2026), https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/testing/overviews/Science_GR5_Assessment_Overview.pdf, read 2026-10-07. Facts: the Tennessee Academic Standards for Science (adopted October 2022), https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/stateboardofeducation/documents/standards/science/New%2010-28-22%20Science%20Standards.pdf, read 2026-10-07; where a question names another public page, that page was read the same day. Licence: Own work. Questions, reading passages, answer choices and explanations were written for this site from the state's public standards and the public pages named on each question. Nothing is copied or reworded from a TCAP or TNReady test, an item release, a practice test of the state or another practice test.

Grade 6: all 12 questions

Physical Sciences 2

  • A speaker is switched on, and grains of rice lying on a drum skin nearby begin to jump. What transferred energy to the rice? NASA Science, "Anatomy of an Electromagnetic Wave"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 6, standard 6.PS3.2
  • Which is an example of chemical energy? U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Forms of energy"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 6, standard 6.PS3.1

Life Sciences 4

  • A fish eats only plant-eating animals. Which kind of consumer is it? National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, "Aquatic food webs"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 6, standard 6.LS2.3
Show all 12 questions (9 more)

Life Sciences, continued

  • A small animal lives among the branches of a coral so it can feed higher above the seafloor. The coral is not harmed. What kind of relationship is this? NOAA Ocean Exploration, "What is symbiosis?"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 6, standard 6.LS2.2
  • Which biome receives the most rain in a year? NASA Earth Observatory, "Biome: Rainforest"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 6, standard 6.LS2.4
  • Which describes an invasive species? U.S. Geological Survey, "What is an invasive species and why are they a problem?"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 6, standard 6.LS2.5

Earth and Space Sciences 6

  • A park removes invasive plants from a meadow so that native wildflowers can grow back. What is this an example of? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 6, standard 6.ESS3.3
  • According to NOAA, what do ocean currents carry from the equator toward the poles? NOAA Ocean Exploration, "How does the ocean affect climate and weather on land?"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 6, standard 6.ESS2.3
  • Burning fossil fuels releases which greenhouse gas into the atmosphere? NASA Science, "What is the greenhouse effect?"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 6, standard 6.ESS2.6
  • Rain soaks down into the soil. What is this movement of water into the ground called? U.S. Geological Survey, "Water cycle"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 6, standard 6.ESS2.4
  • What does a hydroelectric power plant use to produce electricity? U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Hydropower explained"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 6, standard 6.ESS3.2
  • Where does a maritime air mass form? National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, JetStream, "Air Masses"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 6, standard 6.ESS2.7

How this list was compiled: Outline: the TCAP Assessment Blueprint, Science, Grade 6 (June 2026), of the Tennessee Department of Education, https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/blueprints/Grade_6_SCI_Blueprint_2026-27.pdf, linked from Blueprints for 2026-27, https://www.tn.gov/education/districts/lea-operations/assessment/tcap-blueprints.html, and the TCAP Science Grades 6-8 Assessment Overview (June 2026), https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/testing/overviews/Science_GR6-8_Assessment_Overview.pdf, read 2026-10-07. Facts: the Tennessee Academic Standards for Science (adopted October 2022), https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/stateboardofeducation/documents/standards/science/New%2010-28-22%20Science%20Standards.pdf, read 2026-10-07; where a question names another public page, that page was read the same day. Licence: Own work. Questions, reading passages, answer choices and explanations were written for this site from the state's public standards and the public pages named on each question. Nothing is copied or reworded from a TCAP or TNReady test, an item release, a practice test of the state or another practice test.

Grade 7: all 12 questions

Physical Sciences 4

  • A sealed balloon shrinks when it is moved from a warm room into a freezer. According to a particle model, what changed? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 7, standard 7.PS1.3
  • Hydrogen and oxygen react to form water: 2H₂ + O₂ → 2H₂O. How many hydrogen atoms are in the products? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 7, standard 7.PS1.4
  • Two clear liquids are mixed. A yellow solid forms that will not dissolve in either liquid. What is the evidence that a chemical reaction took place? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 7, standard 7.PS1.2
Show all 12 questions (9 more)

Physical Sciences, continued

  • Two substances are mixed in a beaker. A chemical reaction takes place, and the beaker becomes cold to the touch. What does this show about the reaction? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 7, standard 7.PS3.1

Life Sciences 8

  • A mutation is a change in the DNA sequence of an organism. What effect can a mutation have on the organism? National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary, "Mutation"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 7, standard 7.LS3.2
  • In a certain plant, the allele for purple flowers (P) is dominant over the allele for white flowers (p). A Pp plant is crossed with a pp plant. What fraction of the offspring is expected to have purple flowers? National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary, "Dominant"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 7, standard 7.LS3.3
  • What do plants use sunlight to do in photosynthesis? National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, "Aquatic food webs"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 7, standard 7.LS1.7
  • What is the job of the cell membrane? National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary, "Cell Membrane"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 7, standard 7.LS1.1
  • Which cell structure contains the chromosomes? National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary, "Nucleus"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 7, standard 7.LS1.1
  • Which list runs from the simplest unit of the human body to the most complex? National Cancer Institute, SEER Training, "Introduction to the Human Body"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 7, standard 7.LS1.3
  • Which organelle contains digestive enzymes and breaks down worn-out cell parts? National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary, "Lysosome"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 7, standard 7.LS1.1
  • Why do the offspring of sexual reproduction show genetic variation? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 7, standard 7.LS1.6

How this list was compiled: Outline: the TCAP Assessment Blueprint, Science, Grade 7 (June 2026), of the Tennessee Department of Education, https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/blueprints/Grade_7_SCI_Blueprint_2026-27.pdf, linked from Blueprints for 2026-27, https://www.tn.gov/education/districts/lea-operations/assessment/tcap-blueprints.html, and the TCAP Science Grades 6-8 Assessment Overview (June 2026), https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/testing/overviews/Science_GR6-8_Assessment_Overview.pdf, read 2026-10-07. Facts: the Tennessee Academic Standards for Science (adopted October 2022), https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/stateboardofeducation/documents/standards/science/New%2010-28-22%20Science%20Standards.pdf, read 2026-10-07; where a question names another public page, that page was read the same day. Licence: Own work. Questions, reading passages, answer choices and explanations were written for this site from the state's public standards and the public pages named on each question. Nothing is copied or reworded from a TCAP or TNReady test, an item release, a practice test of the state or another practice test.

Grade 8: all 12 questions

Physical Sciences 6

  • A space probe travels away from Earth. As its distance from Earth grows, what happens to the pull of Earth's gravity on the probe? NASA Space Place, "What Is Gravity?"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 8, standard 8.PS2.3
  • A student wants to make the magnetic field of an electromagnet stronger or weaker. Which variable would she change? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 8, standard 8.PS2.2
  • The number of wave crests that pass a point in one second is which property of the wave? NASA Science, "Anatomy of an Electromagnetic Wave"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 8, standard 8.PS4.1
Show all 12 questions (9 more)

Physical Sciences, continued

  • The same push is given to an empty shopping cart and to a full one. Which cart speeds up more? NASA Glenn Research Center, "Newton's Laws of Motion"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 8, standard 8.PS2.5
  • Sunlight reaches Earth through the vacuum of space, but sound cannot cross a vacuum. Why? NASA Science, "Anatomy of an Electromagnetic Wave"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 8, standard 8.PS4.2
  • Which kind of signal carries information more reliably: digitized wave pulses or an analog signal? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 8, standard 8.PS4.3

Life Sciences 3

  • A farmer breeds only the cows that give the most milk, generation after generation. What is this practice called? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 8, standard 8.LS4.5
  • The climate of a region turns colder over many generations. Which members of an animal population are most likely to survive and reproduce? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 8, standard 8.LS4.4
  • Fossils in older, deeper rock layers differ from the fossils in younger layers above them. What does this pattern in the fossil record document? Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 8, standard 8.LS4.1

Earth and Space Sciences 3

  • At which kind of plate boundary is new crust generated as the plates pull away from each other? U.S. Geological Survey, This Dynamic Earth, "Understanding plate motions"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 8, standard 8.ESS2.4
  • The Hawaiian Islands lie in the interior of the Pacific Plate, far from a plate boundary. What formed them? U.S. Geological Survey, This Dynamic Earth, "Hotspots"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 8, standard 8.ESS3.1
  • Light from distant galaxies is stretched to longer, redder wavelengths. What is this redshift evidence of? NASA Science, "Hubble Cosmological Redshift"; Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, grade 8, standard 8.ESS1.1

How this list was compiled: Outline: the TCAP Assessment Blueprint, Science, Grade 8 (June 2026), of the Tennessee Department of Education, https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/blueprints/Grade_8_SCI_Blueprint_2026-27.pdf, linked from Blueprints for 2026-27, https://www.tn.gov/education/districts/lea-operations/assessment/tcap-blueprints.html, and the TCAP Science Grades 6-8 Assessment Overview (June 2026), https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/testing/overviews/Science_GR6-8_Assessment_Overview.pdf, read 2026-10-07. Facts: the Tennessee Academic Standards for Science (adopted October 2022), https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/stateboardofeducation/documents/standards/science/New%2010-28-22%20Science%20Standards.pdf, read 2026-10-07; where a question names another public page, that page was read the same day. Licence: Own work. Questions, reading passages, answer choices and explanations were written for this site from the state's public standards and the public pages named on each question. Nothing is copied or reworded from a TCAP or TNReady test, an item release, a practice test of the state or another practice test.

How it works

Unofficial practice for the TCAP science tests Tennessee gives in grades 3 to 8, with a set of questions for each grade. No question comes from a real test. Not affiliated with the Tennessee Department of Education.

Read the full guide

What changes from grade to grade

Grades 3 and 4 spread their items across physical, life, and Earth and space sciences. Grade 5 leans on physical science and on the Sun, Moon and stars. Grade 6 puts over half of its items on Earth's systems. Grade 7 has no Earth science: it is cells, heredity and matter. Grade 8 leans on forces, waves and atoms.

How the answers are checked

Each question names the Tennessee standard it practices. An answer that needs a fact from outside the standard rests on a named public page, from NASA, NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Institutes of Health and agencies like them.

  • Start with your own grade. Each grade's blueprint lists only that grade's standards, so the sets do not build on each other.

Questions and answers

Which grades take the TCAP science test?

Each grade from 3 to 8 has a TCAP science test with its own blueprint. In high school, the state's science blueprint is for Biology.

How many questions are on the TCAP science test?

Grades 3 and 4 have 30 to 31 items, of which 25 to 26 count. Grades 5 to 8 have 48 to 49 items, of which 39 to 40 count. The others are field test items.

How long is the TCAP science test?

Sixty minutes in one subpart for grades 3 and 4. Ninety minutes in two 45-minute subparts for grades 5 to 8.

What kinds of questions are on the TCAP science test?

Multiple choice items have four options and one right answer and are worth one point. Multiple select items have more than one right answer and are worth two. From grade 5 up, some questions come in clusters that share one phenomenon.

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